A Rather Unexpected Meeting
by PynFyst
Summary: A young man who fools around in a job interview gets suddenly sent off on a journey with a purpose unknown to him and meets up with a group of people still fleeing from a relatively recent war. (Alternate First Contact, AU)
_**Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect**_

This is my first attempt at fanfiction, I've been meaning to do something like this for a while, but I've never really proper inspiration to write a story like this until now and I will try update this as long as that inspiration lasts.

Any constructive criticism is appreciated.

* * *

 **" _T-minus 10…"_**

 **"9…"**

 _Me and my big mouth…_

 **"8…"**

 **"7…"**

 _Why couldn't I have told them something else…_

 **" _6…"_**

 _Like wanting to be a farmer. Yeah, being farmer would have been a better choice…_

 **" _5…"_**

 _ **Anything**_ _would have been better than this…_

 **" _4…"_**

 _Oh well…_

 **" _3… engine start…"_**

…

 **" _2…"_**

 _It can't be_ _ **that**_ _bad…_

 **" _1… we have ignition …"_**

… _can it?_

 **" _..And liftoff for the HMS Exodus. May god be with you._ _Ex Astra, Scientia."_**

 _Goodbye Earth, I'll be sure to send a postcard when I can..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _ **:**_ _ **_**_ _**EARTH STANDARD DATE _: _ 17/02/2017_:  
**_

 _ **:_OCCUPANT STATUS_: _PRE-CRYOSTASIS_:**_

Getting forcefully blasted off into space wasn't what I was expecting to happen when I joked about wanting to be an astronaut at the job center. Did they honestly take me seriously? Or maybe this is what they do to people who joke around during the applications?

I guess it doesn't matter anymore since I'm supposedly off to find aliens or whatever the hell their reasoning was for sending me up into the void in a spaceship, and when I say spaceship, I mean a cryostasis pod slightly larger than a smart car in size, strapped to five thousand tonnes of giant rockets with a small prototype fusion engine at the back of the pod to keep me moving once the rockets run out of fuel.

The pod is programmed to put me into cryosleep once I get passed the moon. With today's technology that means roughly eight hours of thumb twiddling before I become a popsicle, and it bothers me to no end that those bastards back at the space center didn't let me take something to keep me busy for those eight hours, yet they've shoved twenty or so books into the back compartment of the pod along with a handful of other items that could have potentially kept me occupied. Why would they do that? I don't know. Maybe they just want the stuff to be in mint condition when some band of space-faring aliens decide to pick me up while I'm floating around the cosmos in my little fusion-propelled refrigerator.

Another lovely feature of my nuclear cooler box is that it has no bloody windows. None. Not even a camera feed to observe all the wonderful aspects of space as they pass by me. What I do have, is a giant mirror. A mirror that allows me to see my entire body from head to toe. Now I get to add 'making funny faces at myself' to my list of presently available pastimes, right next to the thumb twiddling.

One can only do so much 'funny-face-making' and thumb twiddling before succumbing to a wave of depressing boredom. So I think it would be best if I call it a day… or night. Whatever it is, I'm just gonna go to sleep now before I get to know the feeling of being frozen alive.

…

…

...

 _ **:_EARTH STANDARD DATE _: _ 29/01/2063_:**_

 _ **:_WARNING_: _ 'EXTERNAL LIFE SIGNATURES DETECTED'_:**_

 _ **:_OCCUPANT STATUS _: _ *AWAKENING FROM CRYOSTASIS*_:**_

I awake gradually to the sound of beeping from the pod. Seems like it had a valid reason to thaw me out.

 **"WARNING HMS EXODUS HAS LANDED, UPDATE : EARTH STANDARD DATE 29 JANUARY 2063"**

 _… Hmm? That long, huh?._

 **"ENDING CRYOSTASIS"**

 _… Ah. That. I guess it happened while I was asleep. Explains why I'm so damn cold…. And numb…_

 **"EXTERNAL LIFE SIGNATURES DETECTED"**

 _….Uh oh._

 **"DEPLOYING CONTROL PANEL FOR EXTERNAL ACCESS"**

 _Oh please god no..._

At the moment I'm still too 'frozen' to say anything, so I can only mentally voice my protest at the pod. The best sound I can muster is a strained "Ugh".

I can hear very muffled clanking noises now, like those made from boots against a metal floor and judging from their speed, it seems like they're running towards me. They're getting closer and closer. I can now hear faint voices, speaking very fast. There's a sense of urgency to them. I'm trying my best to listen to what they're saying but their footsteps are making it difficult to hear them.

Straight out of being frozen for forty six years and I'm about to be possibly probed by aliens.

Great.

The running seems to have stopped, and now I can hear their voices a bit better, though I still can't make out any clear words. I'm not the best with other languages, but its sounds... Russian... ish?

Hold up...

Russian equals humans.

Of course! Why didn't I think of that? The guys back at Earth probably probably got the cosmonauts to come and get me back. Cool! What's even better is that my lungs seem to have thawed out nicely now, so I can attempt some communication. Just to let them know I'm alive.

"Hello? Can you guys help me out of this thing? It's freezing in here!"

The chattering stopped suddenly.

"...Hello?"

The chattering is back again. They were probably just surprised to find out there's someone in this pod, because they are shouting at each other again, panic accompanying the sense of urgency in their voices as they work on the console outside.

 _Ah, working so hard to help out their fellow space-borne homosapien._

 **"WARNING: HMS EXODUS POD OPENING"**

The door slowly depressurizes and opens with a cloud of icy mist, obscuring my vision. Although I am able to make out four lean figures in front of the pod door through the cloud.

 **"EX ASTRA, SCIENTIA"**

With the cloud still there, the pod plays the company motto as its final message through the outside speakers loud enough for my cosmonaut rescuers to hear. They jump back as soon as they hear it though… strange.

Whatever, I finally get to leave this thing, but my limbs are still too numb to undo my restraints. I guess I'll ask one of the cosmonauts to help me.

"Thank you for getting me out of here my friends! Would one of you mind undoing my safety restraints? I can't get to them myself and they're awfully uncomfor..."

I can't finish my sentence, as the cloud dissipates revealing the true identity of my rescuers.

Those aren't cosmonauts.

Their faces are remarkably human, but...

They _**definitely**_ aren't humans.

At least they don't look too threatening… if you exclude the weapons they're pointing at me.

The four aliens would easily pass for very lean humans, if you managed to miss the fact that they have, only three fingers, bent back legs and two toes and don't seem to have pupils in their eyes. Not to mention the fact that their space suits are far from basic human design, while ours are all big and clunky, theirs are form fitting, decorated and from the looks of it, armored?

My mind is contemplating all possible scenarios as the staring contest between our two species continues, until one of them, the female of the group, suddenly has her face right in front of mine. Her pale violet eyes are glowing ever so slightly, tearing into my own as if expecting an answer for my very existence. My mind, in its panicked state decides on a few words for this situation, words that will have me kicking myself until the day I die.

"Uh...I come in peace?".

Damn you brain…

* * *

 ***Female Alien POV***

" _Uh...I come in peace?"_ it says hesitantly.

...

...

 _...Keelah_

I cant help let out a long sigh at the situation. I just got this ship and this **_bosh'tet_** had to go and tear a hole in it; an alien that looked like the pale, masculine version of a cross between an asari and a quarian inside a vessel which resembled an escape pod...

I turn to address my crew before they accidentally cause the poor bastard to die from shock because of all the weapons they're pointing at it.

"Bring me the doctors and the engineering division! Now!" 

"Yes captain!" They replied in unison.

I turn back to the alien newcomer and took a step closer to it, it paled considerably at this. Clearly extremely nervous. For now I guess I'll give a short introduction. I'll give proper introductions once we get a working translator during the interrogation later.

"I am Captain Sara'Vaamin vas Cibra. On behalf of the Quarian race, I welcome you to the Migrant Fleet."

 _This is going to be a long day…_


End file.
